


Love Triangle

by weaktea



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Boss/Employee Relationship, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay, Gay Male Character, Homosexuality, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Light Angst, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Office, Police, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Sexual Tension, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smut, South Korea - Freeform, Suspense, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-11-15 12:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18073127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaktea/pseuds/weaktea
Summary: A love triangle in the workplace; what happens when secretary Carmen begins to get closer to his new boss, and eventually closer to her boyfriend.(Shitty summary but check it out if you'd like!)





	1. Rain

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time publishing a story of mine, I hope you all enjoy it and please leave comments, they are what inspire me to write more ^-^.

“In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."  
It was raining; it wasn’t supposed to be. The forecast today had promised clear skies and a reasonable temperature of 10°c. Instead, it was pouring and currently -6°c, so when Carmen walked out of his apartment in nothing but an oversized hoodie and some old grey sweats. Let’s just say he wasn’t prepared, and as he stood inside the convenience store (soaking wet) which was conveniently just around the corner of his apartment. Carmen wanted nothing but to be home, but here he was, waiting in line gripping an umbrella tightly, shivering in his damp clothes; Carmen sighed in relief when it was finally his turn to be rung up at the register. The cashier greeted him and rung him up, 8,000 won was his total, Carmen dug into his pockets and managed to pull out some crumpled bills and thankfully enough coins to pay for the blessed umbrella. Thanking the cashier Carmen walks out the store and immediately opens the umbrella, holding it tightly over him and starting the trek back home. He originally planned to walk to the park just a few miles away from his apartment, wanting to escape his thoughts through some good ole physical activity. It seemed the universe had other plans for him however, and as his clothes dripped and the cold wind dug into his skin like a blade; Carmen longed for nothing more than to be home and be buried under his sheets.

After a few more grueling minutes of walking, Carmen eventually makes it to his complex. With digits completely numb, he punches in his complex’s code into the keypad next to the sliding glass door that leads into his building. The keypad beeps and much to his relief the sliding door opens immediately, Carmen rushes in and closes his umbrella while walking to the elevator right down the hall. Hugging himself Carmen attempts to stop his uncontrollable shivering, he waits for the elevator to arrive and when it does, he’s thankful to see it void of any people, Carmen steps in still leaving a trail of water everywhere he goes. Closing his eyes as the elevator rises to his floor, Carmen hadn't noticed how exhausted he felt; it had been a long day, one Carmen couldn’t wait to sleep off. The elevator rings, waking Carmen, begrudgingly Carmen drags himself out of the elevator and walks down the long corridor of his apartment's floor, before finally making it to his door. He slides his doors keypad up and punches in the code, a familiar beep rings, and his door opens, Carmen enters and shakes his shoes off near the front door before walking in, a yawn escapes him as he turns on the lights and unlocks the sliding door separating his bedroom from the kitchen/living area. Once in his bedroom, Carmen takes off his soaking wet clothes and with great effort, places them neatly on a drying rack before heading to his small bathroom which was connected to his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, Carmen turns on his shower; thankfully, he had remembered to raise the water temperature in his apartment today, so a hot shower awaited him. As Carmen stepped under the warm stream of water, Carmen relished in the feeling; his limbs stung at the sudden sensation of warmth, yet Carmen didn’t care. He let the pain subside as he carefully laid his head on the shower’s walls, making the hot water hit his back; he gingerly closing his eyes. Carmen stayed like that for a few minutes before actually washing up. He found comfort in his mango scented shampoo and conditioner, as he did in his peach scented body wash, Carmen had always been sensitive to smells, so as the sweet aroma of fruits and the steam of hot water swirled around him, he felt satisfied.

One long and a much-needed shower later, Carmen walks out of his bathroom, drying his hair absentmindedly as he heads to sit on his bed. It was soft and welcoming, beckoning him to sleep. Soon, Carmen promised himself as he tossed his towel on his bed and walked to his vanity located only a few feet ahead on him, he grabbed a bottle of lotion and squeezed a generous amount on his hands before gently lathering it around his body. This was his daily routine, wake up, work, come home, eat, shower, and ready up for bed. Carmen let his thoughts drift, and soon he found himself lying beneath his bed’s sheets, tomorrow would surely be another long day, and he’d need all the rest he could get, almost immediately Carmen drifts off to sleep.

A loud ringing stirs Carmen from his oh so peaceful slumber; he slaps around his bed before eventually locating the source of the noise. His phone, he brings it up to his face and turns off the alarm, rubbing his eyes afterward. With much difficulty, Carmen unravels himself from his blankets and heads to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready for work. He had luckily remembered to charge his phone last night before knocking out, and as Carmen brushed his teeth, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts drift once again. It would be two years today, two years since he moved to Seoul and started a whole new life here in South Korea, and it hasn't been the carefree life he had dreamt of living. Carmen worked tirelessly on his Korean and on the process of removing his accent, and thankfully his coworker's reactions to his Korean have been telling him that his devotion is paying off, but the language barrier wasn’t the only problem. Carmen worked as a secretary for the president of Snet, a software company that only recently had been taking off thanks to the hard work of its president and his staff. While many saw the president (Oh Ji-ho) as someone respectable and admirable, Carmen knew the man personally. He was a nightmare, the workload and hours he placed on Carmen were arguably, unethical, and just plain evil. But Carmen never refused or complained, so he supposes some of the blame was partly on him. Carmen always wondered why the president never fired him; there had been plenty of better applicants than him. But for some reason he was hired and not only does he do his secretarial duties, but he also helps the president with paperwork that Carmen knows for a fact the president only trusts him with doing.  
Carmen's thoughts are interrupted however when he hears his phone ring, and of course, it’s one of his co-workers, Carmen answers with a “Hello?”, “Carmen! We have an emergency, the president is coming in early today, and you know how he is if you aren't here before him. So I suggest you hurry up!” and with that, his co-worker, Jin-a hangs up and Carmen is left shocked. Nothing in the President's schedule this week named for him to come in early, Carmen would know since he’s the one who makes his agenda. And the fact that Jin-a knew about this before Carmen did was confusing; surely the president would have told Carmen first. Carmen has no time to ponder however, as he quickly ties up his shoulder-length hair into a messy bun and heads to his closet, pulling on a grey turtleneck, some black pants, and a tan coat. Carmen has no time to do his face and bolts out the door, leather handbag and keys in hand.

Miraculously Carmen manages to catch the early train out, and it's packed, as usual, Carmen is squashed underneath a woman's arm and another man's armpit, but what's new. Eventually, the train stops at his designated station and Carmen hurries out the station and onto the populated streets. The walk to the office was five minutes max, and as Carmen walks through the buildings large glass doors, he scans over the busy lobby before heading over to the security checkpoint, there Carmen swipes his company id over one of the security machines, and the device glows green as it opens up for him to go through. Walking to the elevator area, Carmen hears various people whispering and gossiping about how the president is coming in early today, and Carmen can’t help but feel his stomach twist uncomfortably with anticipation and worry. The elevator ride up was noisy, and Carmen usually would have not minded, sadly however, he was currently freaking out, what was so important that the president had to come in early for the first time in literal years. Carmen decides worrying doesn't help anything, so when the lift stops at his floor, Carmen gets off and decides to continue the day as usual. Walking onto the floor, he notices it’s packed; his co-workers would usually arrive later than him on “normal” days. Carmen bows slightly when he sees them looking, they bow back before going back to their conversations. Carmen got along with most of his co-workers, yet they rarely talked outside of work, so it surprises him when he sees Dongwoo follow him into their floors kitchen area. As Carmen fills a kettle with water and subsequently places it on a gas burner, Dongwoo's voice startles him, “Hyung?” Dongwoo asks, and Carmen is shocked by the sudden friendlessness. Carmen turns to the younger boy, he was taller than him, but that wasn’t a shocker, who wasn’t. Carmen looks into the boy's warm brown eyes; he always had a soft spot for this intern; he reminded Carmen of a younger him.  
"Yes, Dongwoo-ssi?" Carmen replies, trying to regain the formalities between them, sure he liked the kid, but Carmen wasn’t sure he was ready to drop formal language with him. Dongwoo seemed to notice this, and he straightens up immediately, his ears turned red as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before speaking again, “I just wanted to say that I’ll miss you Carmen-ssi, you were the only person who treated me right.” Carmen tilts his head in confusion, but before he can question the intern the kettle whistles, Carmen turns to turn off the burner before facing back to Dongwoo. Once again he’s interrupted when Jin-a busts in and whispers a harsh, “He’s here” Dongwoo immediately bows a farewell and rushes out the door with Jin-a. Carmen is left confused; what did Dongwoo mean by "He’d miss him?" Carmen shakes the thought away and hurries to make the president his morning tea.

Carmen plates a few of the president's favorite cookies next to his tea before exiting the room and heading to the president's office; his desk was located right in front of the president's office. Which was separated from the others but near enough the president could still see what was happening on the main floor, with one hand Carmen knocks on the president's giant oak doors. A gruff voice answers, “Come in,” and so Carmen does. His eyes land on the familiar sight of his boss, the president was a fifty-something-year-old man with salt and pepper hair and a stern look in his eyes. Even with his old age and wrinkles, the president was still an attractive man, and no doubt had many romantic escapades during his younger years. Carmen bows slightly at the president before walking over to him to place down his tea and cookies on his desk, the president muffles thanks as he takes a sip of his drink while looking through a file. Carmen smiles and begins his track back to his station when the president suddenly stops him.  
"Secretary Carmen.” he says plainly, and Carmen turns around smiling, “Yes president?”. He signals Carmen to sit in front of him, and Carmen feels his stomach drop, so he was getting fired? Now Dongwoo’s sudden farewell and the president's early arrival made sense; he just wanted to get the process of firing him over with. Carmen suppresses a sigh and looks down at his feet as the president starts to speak, “Secretary Carmen, you’ve been my assistant for two years now.” Carmen nods and manages to look up to see the president looking curiously at him, “And during that time I’ve come to see that you’re…” and this is where he lets me go Carmen figures, but the president's next few words surprise him. “One of the best if not the best secretary I’ve had. And because of that, I’m letting you go.” Carmen was confused if he was so good then why was he letting him go? All Carmen could do was nod understandably, and as he started to stand the president stopped him. “I’m letting you go because I need you somewhere else. Specifically, I need you to be my daughter's secretary. “ Carmen sits back down, and by the way the president laughs, his face must've shown his obvious confusion. “As you know, our company has been very blessed lately. And because of this, the opportunity to retire young for me arises. But I don’t want to retire formally until I know for a certainty my daughter, the vice president, can handle the responsibilities and difficulties of running a company” The president finally explains. Carmen nods slowly, finally understanding, there had been rumors the president had been planning to retire. But Carmen thought they were just that, rumors. Carmen looks up and talks for the first time during the entire conversation, “But why didn’t you tell me earlier, sir?” Carmen asks, and the president chuckles before speaking again, “I told Jin-a last night when you left early to inform you that this morning I was going to relocate you.” Carmen frowns, of course, Jin-a would tell everyone in the office except him. Carmen simply nods and smiles, “Well I’m honored you think so highly of me, sir. That you would trust me to be your daughter's secretary is a huge blessing.” The president huffs at Carmen's soft words but doesn't seem all that bothered, “Today is your last day with me, Secretary Carmen. Tomorrow you’ll be under my daughter's supervision; she’s just a floor below us, so be ready to report in early tomorrow.” Camren nods politely, and then the president hands him a pile of files, “Let’s get to work.”

The morning breeze felt refreshing for once, and the cold air only manages to give Carmen's cheeks a deeper flush of pink. Carmen decided he’d have to make an excellent first impression today, so he tried to look nice. He wore a pastel pink crewneck sweater with black pants and white converses. He also wore a beautiful white oversized coat that cost him almost an entire paycheck. His hair was tied in a bun with two wavy strands of hair in front of his face; his face was lightly done with natural makeup and just a bit of pink eyeshadow and bush. Luckily the company had a lax uniform policy, and since he was a secretary, he had even fewer restrictions on what he could and could not wear. As Carmen went up to his new floor, he was surprised to see it occupied with only four people, they all stared at him curiously but went back to their work quickly. Well, they’re friendly, Carmen bows at them regardless, and he finds it interesting to see the floor has the same layout as his old floor. So Carmen went to what he supposed was the vice president's office and knocked, a sultry voice answers, “Come in.” So Carmen did, what he didn’t expect however was to see his new boss sprawled suggestively over her desk, Carmen turns around quickly and spurts out a multitude of apologies as the woman frantically gets up and starts cursing. “Who are you! Why would you come in here!” she asks frantically, clearly embarrassed and seemingly shocked, Carmen answers just as embarrassed, “I’m your new secretary, I was told you’d be informed of my presence!” Carmen manages to spit out, and a painfully awkward silence follows that for a few minutes before the vice president speaks, “Oh.. that. I had completely forgotten about that.” She said more to herself than to Carmen, suddenly a knock on the office's door surprises the two of them. The vice president informs the guest to come in; a tall and gruff looking man walks in. The man seems confused at Carmen's presence, but once his eyes lock with the vice presidents, Carmen is seemingly forgotten. Carmen sees the two of them look lovingly at each other and he feels as though he’s just walked into a drama, he moves awkwardly. “I should... um. Go.” Carmen manages to say as he leaves the office quickly; this wasn’t what he expected his first day would be like.

The tension between him and his new boss was beyond description; they could barely look at each other, let alone speak to one another. Carmen wasn’t quite sure why though, sure he had seen his new supervisor sprawled about her desk in a less than appropriate way. But it’s not like he saw her nude or doing anything...indecent, yet his president acted as though Carmen had seen her at her lowest. Not to mention, the man from that day (who Carmen soon found out was the boyfriend of Vice President Seohyun) always gave him the evil eye and seriously scared Carmen with his threatening and intense aura whenever he came to visit President Seohyun, which was basically at least twice a week at her office. And so three weeks of doing nothing but sorting through emails and answering calls came and went, draining Carmen beyond belief, as much as he hates to admit it, he was starting to reminisce back on the days when he would be overworked to the brink of a burnout. Worst of all, the floor was going to have a small get together today after work, and if the rumors were right that vice president Seohyun always attended these, there was now no way Carmen could weasel out of this company party. So either A, he loses face at the company and be labeled as a recluse for not attending the party with his new coworkers, or B go, and it be painfully awkward when president Seohyun refuses to look Carmen in the eyes. Carmen sighs before accepting his fate, he’d have to go, but he’d try to at least patch some things up with the vice president before the actual party.  
With a heavy heart and feet, Carmen gets up from his small desk and walks the few feet from his desk to the vice president's door. The cherry wood doors are polished and beautiful engraved, Carmen bawls up a fist and knocks gently on the door. Nothing is heard for a minute or so, and Carmen starts to immediately regret his actions before a clear voice calls out, “Come in,” and so Carmen does. This time when he looks forward, the president is seated normally behind her desk, sitting in front of a monitor with various documents sprawled about her desk. Carmen’s eye twitches involuntarily; Carmen was never good at hiding his distaste at anything unorganized and messy, thankfully vice president Seohyun didn’t notice or at least pretended not to notice Carmen’s disdain towards her office's current state. Carmen bows deeply as he approaches her desk, “My apologies for disturbing you vice president, but I was wondering if we could talk for just a moment” he asks carefully, Carmen expected his new boss to laugh and scoff at his face before telling him to scram. Surprisingly, she did the exact opposite and nodded slowly before motioning Carmen to take a seat in front of her desk all the while looking at her computer screen; Carmen immediately takes the seat. She types away for a few moments before turning and looking at Carmen; Carmen sighs internally in relief, he had initially thought this would've been a weird conversation where Vice president Seohyun stared at her computer as she spoke to Carmen.  
Carmen takes one of the president’s raised eyebrows as a cue to start speaking, “I wanted to apologize, for the… event that happened weeks ago. I should have clarified it was your new secretary before barging into your office. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.” Carmen asks with the best sincere sounding voice he could muster, Seohyun stares at him for a few seconds before responding. “No, it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have assumed you were someone else” she cleared her throat after that obviously uncomfortable with that memory. “I actually wanted to apologize to you.” she says, and Carmen looks up at his boss in shock, “Apologize for what ma’am?”. Seohyun stiffened slightly but sat up straight, seemingly determined to get off whatever was on her chest. “For my behavior these past few weeks, I’ve been unprofessional.” Seohyun seems hesitant to say more, so Carmen intervenes, “There is no need to apologize Vice President. How about we just start over?’ Carmen said, standing up and bowing to his superior, “Hello VIce President Seohyun, I am your new secretary, Carmen Perez.” Seohyun looks at him slightly bemused before smiling, “Pleasure” she said happily, and handed Carmen a stack of files, “Let’s get to work.” 

A packed barbecue restaurant bustles with various freshly off the clock employees, ranging from businesspeople to construction workers. On one long table sat Carmen, who was snuggled between two of his new co-workers, Yejun his floor’s IT person and Joonwoo, his floors lead manager. They had both immediately taken a liking to Carmen a few days after he started working with them and now made it their life’s mission to get him to “loosen” up. Carmen awkwardly raises his glass as another loud burst of cheers echoes around him, and he only sips the shot of soju Joonwoo had poured for him. Just as Carmen was going to place said shot glass down Joonwoo looks expectantly at him, the man was fifteen years his senior and it showed. Crows feet gathered at the corners of his eyes and many wrinkles scattered across his face. However, this didn’t stop Joonwoo from exhuming an almost juvenile like aura, and he had a charming smile to boot. Carmen sighed and downed the shot in one go, it burned his throat, and he stuck out his tongue in distaste, but Joonwoo roared in glee and in turn Yejun playfully shoves Carmen’s side, “There you go Carmen-ah!” screeched Yejun.  
Carmen playfully scowls at him as Carmen reaches to grab a piece of cooked meat from the grill. Yejun was only two years his senior but already had a grown and authoritative aura about him, yet as seen today he had a playful side to him which Carmen much preferred. He had an average face with an oddly eureopenisque square jaw; his hair was short and black, which now stuck to his forehead because of the warm environment. Carmen looked around at the rest of the table, everyone on his new floor was here drinking and chatting. Well almost everyone, Carmen glanced at his phone, it was getting late, and Seohyun was still not here. She had told him that she needed to finish up some work at the office but was going to come to the company party as soon as possible, yet here they were, two hours after closing and she was still nowhere to be seen. Carmen munched on his peace of meat gloomily; he wasn’t sure why but he was disappointed not to have been able to have spent time with Seohyun. Call him crazy, but Carmen wholeheartedly wanted to get to know his new boss better, which was strange for him He never had this urge before, but something about Seohyun was different, she seems kind, and merely reachable in a sense. Carmen wanted to get closer to her, Seohyun’s face soon popped into his mind, and Carmen shook his head, chasing these strange thoughts away. He was overthinking; surely there wasn't anything wrong with wanting to be friends or at least amicable with one’s superior, especially after they started on a bad foot. Friendship was all they could have, suddenly the ringing of the front door signaled someone entering the restaurant. Carmen moved his head to look. Seohyun came in, she was dressed in her usual business attire, but she had a faint pink color on her cheeks probably from the cold weather outside, and Carmen couldn’t help but admire her.  
Vice president Seohyun definitely got her looks from her father, they were both insanely attractive from a physical standpoint, and Seohyun carried herself with confidence. Which only made Carmen even more enamored, Carmen caught himself staring and quickly looked away, this was highly unlike him, sure he found women just as attractive as men, but Carmen was not one of those creeps who ogled women. Most of the table, including Carmen, stood up to greet her, Seohyun nodded and smiled wearily. Carmen frowned, she must be exhausted. That’s when their eyes met, and Carmen smiles politely, which Seohyun returns and approaches his side of the table. Yejun quickly scrambles away and offers her his seat which Seohyun gratefully takes, Carmen feels a bit warmer than before as their shoulders touch, Seohyun groans in relief as she sits, she should've gone straight home thought Carmen. Still, he couldn't hide the smile on his face, Carmen poured her a shot of soju and Seohyun, in turn, smiles again. “Thank you,” she says sweetly, and Carmen simply nods and goes back to eating. 

Carmen bites on his chopsticks nervously, Seohyun had quickly begun to throw drinks back, telling Carmen she had to catch up with the rest of them. He’d figured his boss would’ve had a high tolerance to alcohol considering her confidence while taking them, yet here she was already drunk after only three shots of soju. The party was also starting to dwindle, with more and more people getting up to leave. Until eventually everyone had left in a drunken haze, and here he was, with an almost unconscious Seohyun. Carmen sighs loudly; these things always happened to him, now he was responsible for the care of his intoxicated supervisor. Carmen stood up wearily and pulls Seohyun up with him, using all his strength, she wasn’t heavy by any means, but Carmen had the upper body strength of a noodle. Seohyun groans but lets herself be pulled up; Carmen winced as he felt her lean all her weight on him. Carmen huffs out as he adjusts his grip on her, somehow the two of them managed to walk out of the restaurant. When outside Carmen fishes for her phone in her purse, maybe Carmen could ring someone up to come to get her. Luckily it didn’t have a passcode but now with that out of the way, Carmen wasn’t sure who to call, and he surely couldn’t take her to his apartment. Scrolling through her contacts, Carmen stops at one name, “Baby” Carmen’s thumb hovers over the contact for a second. He was sure this was a bad idea, but he had no idea who else to call, and he blamed his partially inebriated brain for the poor sense of judgment as well. Carmen taps the name, and the phone immediately starts to dial, Seohyun’s boyfriend picks up on the third ring. “What’s up babe?” a rough yet strangely chocolatey voice answers and Carmen feels his throat dry up, he clears his throat before speaking. “Um. Hello, I’m President Seohyun’s assistant Carmen Perez. I’m sorry to say she’s had a bit too much to drink and has passed out; I’m currently outside a restaurant with her.” Carmen sorta slurs out, and he bites his lip in anticipation, the line was silent for what felt like a millennia before a more serious and robotic voice answers, “I’m coming, send me the address.” and with that, the man hangs up and Carmen pouts unhappily, he liked the man’s sweeter side better. Carmen drags the two of them to a nearby bench, and he messages Seohyun’s boyfriend the restaurant's address. He comes surprisingly quick… in a police car. Carmen stands as the same man he met his first day of work approaches him; he was just as tall as he remembered. But Carmen could study his face more clearly now; he was quite attractive. With a sharp jawline and beautifully carved out features that Carmen thought was just unfair, no wonder these two dated, they were a power couple. Carmen tensed up slightly as the policeman suddenly stood in front of him, he has to look up to speak to him. “Um, hi. I’m Carmen from the phone call. President Seohyun is right there.” he points to the beach behind him, ”I wasn't sure who to call, but I saw your contact in her phone, so I figured it would be best to call you.” Carmen digs out Seohyun’s phone which he had put in his pocket and hands it to the scarily authoritative and equally as attractive man before him. He takes it from Carmen, and their fingers brush together, Carmen could feel his cheeks warm up from the slightest touch. The policeman had calloused fingertips, yet his touch felt gentle. God. Something was off with him today, Carmen bowed slightly, “Well, I believe I can trust you with her, goodbye.” Carmen smiled politely and was about to walk past the man when he starts speaking, “How are you getting home?” He asks curtly, and Carmen had to will himself not to cringe at the aggressive tone, geez was the guy always this tense. “Uh. I was going to take a taxi home.” Carmen answered back, his tone sweeter, hoping it would change the atmosphere of the conversation. The policeman nodded and began to walk up to Seohyun, he picked her up easily (good for him) but with such tenderness, Carmen was quite surprised to see it coming from him. “I’ll take you home.” He told Carmen while putting Seohyun in the passenger side of the police car, Carmen was about to refuse, but by the way, he was now looking at Carmen. It seemed to be more of a command than a request; Carmen sighs for what feels like the millionth time today as he steps into the backseat of the police car. 

The car ride home was silent… and not the kind Carmen usually enjoyed. It was a tense and uncomfortable silence that Carmen couldn't wait to be out of. Seohyun’s boyfriend had introduced himself as Jun-Seo and ended the conversation at that. Junseo would often look over at Seohyun with a concerned look in his eyes every so often and then, in turn, look at Carmen with an unreadable expression through the rearview mirror. Which always made Carmen hot under the collar, this day couldn't get any weirder, eventually with some jumbled directions from Carmen they make it to his apartment complex. Carmen thanks to the threatening policeman and quickly gets out of the car and to Carmen’s horror so does Junseo, Carmen hesitates by the car before decoding to walk up to his complex. Junseo follows him, the two walk in complete silence, and soon enough, they make it to his complex’s locked glass door. Carmen turns to Junseo and bows, “Thank you for the ride.” he said honestly, and Junseo nods before speaking. “Thank you for calling me; you made the right decision getting me to pick up Seohyun.” Carmen nods slowly before hastily agreeing with him, Junseo looks at him, “Well goodnight!” Carmen manages to yell out under Junseo’s intense gaze, and with that, Carmen punches in his code and enters the building, not turning back until he was in the elevator. That’s when he sees Junseo walking back to his car and driving away; Carmen exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding in. This had to be one of the weirdest days he’s experienced.


	2. Phone Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus, I just didn't have the motivation to write. But now I do! Thank you for reading and please leave a comment or a kudos, it's honestly the only thing encouraging me to write.

An all too familiar alarm echoes throughout the room; waking a slumbering Carmen, he, in turn, pats around him for his phone. However, all he feels instead is the cold hardwood beneath him; he opens his eyes to see he had fallen asleep on his bedroom floor. It seems like he was a bit drunker than what he had initially believed last night. Carmen sits up, rubbing his eyes; his phone's alarm still blaring somewhere. Memories from last night come flooding in, and along with the reminiscing comes the all too familiar splitting headache of a hangover. With heavy limbs, Carmen gets up and eventually finds his phone a few feet behind him on his kitchen counter. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Carmen finally turns off the cursed machine and heads to his bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up; lord knows he needed it. His breath smelt like death, and he stunk of alcohol, sweat, and barbeque, not the most pleasant combination of scents. Carmen usually found this part of his day relaxing. However, the constant pang of nausea and his headache made everything oh so painful. 

Somehow Carmen manages to get through the pain and now resembles somewhat of a functioning human being. Putting on some comfortable clothes, Carmen crawls into bed and browses through his various social media and answers some work emails. He had today off thankfully; Carmen usually spent his days off sleeping and eating when necessary. He was just about to start his morning nap when his phone suddenly rings, not many people called him off of work, so Carmen looked curiously at his phone. It read, "Vice President Seohyun" and Carmen immediately felt nervous. Why was Seohyun calling him? He hadn't done anything wrong; he was sure of it. RIght? Before Carmen could delve any further into his anxiety-ridden mind, he decides to answer the call, "Hello?' he answers plainly, and a cheery voice answers him, "Carmen! I was hoping you'd answer, I had begun to think you were asleep." Carmen wracks his brain for an appropriate response, "I've been awake for quite a while now haha, what could I do for you, Vice President?" He asks, and Seohyun answers, "I was hoping you'd join me for lunch, my treat, of course." Carmen immediately begins to decline, but Seohyun speaks up, "Please, Carmen, Junseo told me about yesterday, I just wanted to thank you in person." And at that Carmen deflates, he can't say no now, "Of course Miss, I'd be honored to have lunch with you." Seohyun stifles a laugh, and Carmen immediately feels his face warm-up, "You can call me by my name, Carmen, and it's no honor to have lunch with me." Carmen smiles at that, "It's an honor for me… Seohyun" her name flows out his mouth naturally, and he can hear Seohyun laugh wholeheartedly now, making his smile grow even larger. "I'll send you the address to my favorite cafe then! See you there in an hour." She hangs up after that, leaving Carmen in awe of what just happened, he's having lunch with his boss. Nothing huge, plenty of people ate with their co-workers, but Carmen couldn't help but feel a bit excited. He sits there replaying their conversation in his head when his phone suddenly rings, it's Seohyun, and as promised she sent him the address of a quite fancy looking cafe. This snaps Carmen out his daydream, and he hastily runs to his closet, picking out something casual but not too casual.

After a few hectic minutes, Carmen is dressed and ready for the day; making sure he had everything he needed on him he heads out the door. It was just as cold as yesterday; however, the skies were not as cloudy today, and it seemed like it might just not rain. But Carmen didn't trust it and brought an umbrella with him. The train ride and subsequent taxi ride to the cafe went by relatively quick; Carmen was far too engrossed in his thoughts to notice the packed subway and streets. Approaching the beautiful glass-walled cafe, Carmen immediately notices Seohyun inside; she was wearing a simple blue sweater with a white coat over it and some everyday blue jeans. Even when Seohyun dressed so casually she looked beautiful, Carmen mentally slaps himself; he takes a few deep breaths before entering the cafe. Seohyun notices him immediately, and her face lights up as she walks over to him, they were almost the same height Carmen notes. He was about an inch taller, good to know he wasn't the shortest person around.  
"Carmen! Good to see you, let's go order?" she says, signaling over to the register. Carmen nods and walks with her to the center of the store. Scanning the menu over the register, Carmen gulps when he sees the ridiculous prices, looking for the cheapest thing Carmen finds it and decides to order that. However, it seems that through his rigorous breakdown of the menu Seohyun had already ordered and paid for them, "I thought since you've never been here before, I'd just order for you. I promise it'll be good." She explains as she leads them to a table near the back, far from prying eyes. As they sit down, Carmen finally speaks up, "Thank you; I was pretty lost up there." Seohyun smiles. "I noticed, so of course I had to come to the rescue!" And Carmen smiles sincerely at that, "Talking about rescuing, I wanted to thank you for last night. After Junseo talked my ear off about drinking responsibly, he told me about how you took care of me last night." Seohyun says, and Carmen stiffens at the gratitude, he never was good at this whole communicating thing. "No need for thanks Seohyun, I couldn't just leave you there after all. Anyone would've done the same" Carmen utters, Seohyun eyes him before speaking, "The thing is Carmen, no one there would've done the same. So please just accept my gratitude." She explains before chuckling softly at Carmen's stiffness, Carmen nods, and thankfully, at that moment they are brought their drinks, they both thank the employee as they place their drinks down and walks away. Carmen grabs his drink and sips it curiously, it looked like any other regular shmegular iced coffee, but the taste was something else, Carmen had already grown accustomed to the over-sweetened and highly caffeinated iced coffee drinks he'd usually get. But this one had the right amount of sweetness and tang from the caffeine; they must've used some sort of special coffee bean because Carmen could taste the quality. Only at Seohyun's sudden soft laughter does Carmen notice all he had been doing these past few minutes was drink his coffee. He turns a bright pink right away as Seohyun begins to speak, "I told you it was good! I'm glad you like it." She says earnestly before she took a sip of her own drink, that's when Carmen notices her beautiful, bracelet, attracted to it were various charms all encrusted with brilliant diamonds that shined bright against the silver material of the bracelet. Against better judgment Carmen comments on it, "That's a beautiful bracelet." Seohyun's eyes gaze over her bracelet as she grins, "Yup! Junseo got it for me on our two-year anniversary. Oh but don't get me started I could talk about that for days." she says, accompanied with her beautiful laughter. Carmen feels his stomach flutter at the sound and speaks again, "Well, I'd love to hear about it." At that, Seohyun brightens up considerably, "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." And so at Carmen's urging Seohyun dives into recanting the story about how Junseo had gotten her the bracelet. 

They sit there talking for hours, well Seohyun did most of the talking. Talking about whatever came up, funny stories, embarrassing moments, Junseo, anything that popped into Seohyun's head. And Carmen enjoyed every last moment of it; he always made sure to comment at the right times and spur on the conversation whenever the conversation dwindled. He simply enjoyed listening to Seohyun talk, but eventually, the two noticed how dark it had gotten, and so Carmen was the first to get up, "We should probably get going before it gets too dark outside." Seohyun agrees and starts to stand, as well. "You're right. How about we take a cab together to the station?" she asks, and Carmen agrees, ordering a taxi quickly and paying for the two of them. The ride to the station was filled with a comfortable silence, and before long, they are dropped off. It was raining now, and they both hurried down the steps into the actual subway, Carmen turns to Seohyun and hands her his umbrella. He noticed she didn't have one, "Here take this" he mutters, and Seohyun looks hesitant at first but takes the umbrella uttering a thank you. Their fingers brush, and Carmen immediately blushes before speaking, "I had a great time today, thank you for the coffee Seohyun." She smiles, "Of course! My pleasure, Carmen. I hope we can do this again sometime." She maneuvers herself a bit and leans in for a hug; Carmen panics but hugs her anyway. They hug for a few seconds max, but when the two pull away, Carmen swears he sees a splash of pink on her cheeks. An announcement echoes through the station and informs them Seohyun's train is coming up soon, they wait there patiently, and soon enough Seohyun walks into her train. They wave goodbye to each other, and as the train pulls off into the abyss, Carmen feels an almost immediate longing, this is ridiculous. Seohyun was his boss, someone he was to have strictly platonic feelings for, no wishful thinking here. Not to mention she was already in a relationship, and Carmen truly respected that. Not long after that, Carmen's train pulls up, and he enters, and once again, thanks to his introspective thoughts, he barely feels the ride to his stop. After exiting the train and subway, Carmen feels the chilly air rush through him, stuffing his hands into his pockets, Carmen walks the short distance to his complex. The walk felt longer, due to the cold night, but he makes it home in under ten minutes. As he walks in, Carmen wants nothing more but to go to bed. However, his phone has different plans for him. It starts ringing, and Carmen's curiosity is once again peeked, who would call him at this hour. 

It was an unknown number, and Carmen always declined those. You never could be too safe, but for once, he surprisingly answers. "Hello?" Carmen mumbles quietly, the line remains silent for a few moments before an all too familiar voice answers, "Hey." This was definitely Junseo, but why would he be calling. "Junseo?" Carmen manages to ask for confirmation, and again, the deep-voiced man answers with a simple "Yup.", Carmen's mind races as he talks, "Uh… well hello! What can I do for you today?" there really was no reason for Junseo to be calling him. So the most logical conclusion was that Carmen had to have done something illegal and was about to be arrested. Carmen didn't remember breaking the law, but that didn't matter now, he was going to be handcuffed by his bosses stupidly attractive boyfriend, Carmen is then harshly pulled back into reality when Junseo speaks, "I was calling to see if you'd want to have dinner with me." Carmen is baffled and begins to sputter out various incomprehensible strings of words. Eventually, by some heavenly intervention, Junseo decides to speak up, "I just wanted to thank you for yesterday." Straight to the point as always, Carmen tries to come up with some sort of excuse, anything, but he's shooting blanks. "Of course! Um, where should we meet up." Carmen ends up mumbling the last few words, "I'm picking you up. I'll be there in five." Junseo states, hanging up soon after that; Carmen's mental processes seemingly shut down. When Carmen finally manages to wrap his head around the whole situation, he has about three minutes to freshen up. And by that, he means brushing his teeth in a flash and making sure his hair wasn't a total mess before Junseo came; speak of the devil. Carmen was just about to flatten some strands of frizzy hair when his phone rings. It's a text message from Junseo merely stating he was outside, with shaky breathes Carmen makes sure he has everything he needs for another impromptu trip and heads out.

And of course Junseo had to pick him up with his police car, what Carmen didn't expect was to see Junseo still clad in his uniform, which suited him a bit too well. Carmen climbs into the passenger side of the vehicle and remains silent as he buckles up; Junseo begins to drive off. They remain in dead silence before Carmen just can't take it anymore and looks over to Junseo, who looked even better (if that was possible) up close, and had Carmen mentioned how well Junseo wore that police uniform because God did he wear it well. Junseo eyes never leave the road, but Carmen feels rude staring, so he instead speaks, "Thank you for picking me up Junseo, you didn't have to." Carmen mutters quietly. He was nervous about using his first name so casually, but it's a bit too late to take it back now, Junseo peeks over to Carmen before speaking. "No need for thanks, I was the one who invited you out after all." Carmen smiles and nods before looking out his window, "About that, um, you didn't have to take me out to dinner to thank me for doing the right thing. Especially after Seohyun already thanked me over lunch." He says nervously, and at the mention of Seohyun's name Junseo visibility lights up and looks over to Carmen. "Seohyun did mention having lunch with a friend, didn't think it was you." Carmen processes his words, Seohyun called Carmen a friend? Carmen wasn't quite sure why that shocked him so much, but he couldn't lie that he felt warm at the thought of having Seohyun regard him as a friend. Junseo speaks again, "Regardless I wanted to thank you personally, I uh… I know I'm not the most social person. But Seohyun means a lot to me, so anyone who treats her right is a good person in my book." Junseo explains in a surprisingly soft tone and before Carmen can reply; however, they pull up to a busy looking restaurant. Carmen looks around and sees the restaurant is the only bustling building at this time; everything else seems to be closed and dark. "They make some of the best-fried chicken here." Junseo says as he steps out of the car, Carmen follows suit and the chilly air digs into his exposed skin; he hurries to Junseo's side as the man was already close to the restaurant's doors, damn those long legs. "Do you come here a lot?" Carmen asks, Junseo had only begun to talk, and Carmen honestly didn't want the policeman to stop. "Yeah, I always try to come at least once a week. It's usually with Seohyun though, but since she's been working a lot, it's just been me." Carmen nods in understanding as they enter, the smell of chicken could be smelled from outside, but it smells so much better in the here, and regrettably, Carmen's stomach rumbles in anticipation. Carmen turns bright pink, but Junseo simply chuckles and smiles softly before locking eyes with Carmen, "You can order as much as you want okay? I'm paying." He says as a waitress approaches them and guides them to their seats, the waitress seems to recognize Junseo, and they exchange pleasantries; however, Carmen tunes them out. All he can focus on is how good a smile looked on Junseo and how melodic his laugh sounded; all Carmen wanted to do now was make this serious man smile and laugh. Carmen shakes those thoughts away from that serious man was Seohyun's boyfriend, and Carmen couldn't even think of hurting Seohyun. The waitress gave them a table away from the rowdy crowds, Junseo then immediately orders for them, drinks included. What was it about him that gave people the idea he was helpless, he was but still. The waitress leaves to put in their order and get their drinks; the two men sit across from each other and Junseo leans back in his chair stretching. Carmen averts his eyes not wanting to stare, how was he going to get through this dinner, when he couldn't even look at the man. "I didn't like you at first." Junseo states, looking at Carmen. "Seohyun told me what happened when you guys first met." He says and Carmen nods in understanding, of course, Seohyun would've told him, and that also explained all the evil glares he received from Junseo those first few weeks. "But after you guys made up and you helped Seohyun the way you did. I now know you're a good guy Carmen." It was barely a compliment if you could even call it that but coming from Junseo who Carmen had already figured out as a man of few words it meant a lot. Carmen blushes and rubs the back of his head, awkwardly, "I still feel like you guys are making a big deal out of nothing. I just did the right thing; I couldn't just leave her there." Carmen utters quietly, and Junseo never moves his gaze from him, "Yup, you're a good person." Before Carmen could ask what he meant, the waitress comes back with their drinks and surprisingly their food, that was fast. They both thank her and Junseo signals to Carmen to eat, after putting on some plastic gloves he does. It might be because Carmen hadn't eaten anything but iced coffee all day, but this chicken tasted divine, it was perfectly cooked and moist inside with just the quintessential amount of crunch on the outside, it was a bit spicy, but Carmen could care less. Before he noticed Carmen had devoured two whole chicken legs, when he looked up, Junseo was looking at him with awe. Carmen blushes, but Junseo washes his worries away, "I'm impressed, and it isn't easy to impress me. It's usually me eating that quick." He says with a small laugh, and Carmen wants to hear him laugh more, It seems the only things that honestly get Junseo talking is food and Seohyun. Two subjects Carmen thoroughly enjoyed as well, "How was the first time you brought Seohyun here?", Junseo as seen before visibly lights up at the mention of Seohyun and immediately begins talking. Carmen eats slowly, taking in all of Junseo's words.

They sit at the table well after eating their food, Junseo recanting countless stories about his adventures with Seohyun. It seemed like Seohyun brought out a more fun-loving and kind person in Junseo, and he cared deeply for her. Carmen enjoyed hearing Junseo reminisce, the smile and laughter that accompanied him when he did were reward enough. But Carmen was genuinely interested in hearing about Junseo and Seohyun, two people he already liked despite their short time knowing each other. However destiny always found a way to end Carmen's fun it seemed as Junseo's phone suddenly rings and by the way his smile immediately drops upon seeing it ring, it must be someone he doesn't want to talk to. Junseo stands to his full height, "Excuse me, I have to take this call." Carmen smiles, "No problem, take your time." WIth that Junseo heads outside, Carmen watches him until he's out of view and he turns back to his table. Carmen takes out his phone and sees he's gotten a message from Seohyun, his heart immediately does a flip. "I had a fun day today, Carmen! I mean it when I said we have to do it again!" it read followed by various cutesy emojis, it's hard to believe that he's texting the future president of Snet so casually. And that she sees Carmen as a friend and not just an assistant, Carmen hurriedly types back. "I had fun too Seohyun, we'll plan out something soon, I'm sure." he writes, followed by one, singular, smiling emoji. He makes sure there are no typos before sending it off, just as Junseo comes to stand by him. Carmen has to look up to see his face and let's just say Carmen now has another reason to avoid becoming a criminal. The look on his face was grim, "I just got called back into work, Carmen, I'm going to have to drop you off." Carmen stands and notices he still only barely manages to reach Junseo's chest, "Oh, I completely understand! I could take a taxi home if that's easier for you." Carmen says trying to be considerate, but that seems to only upset Junseo even more, "No it's okay, I'll take you home." he says gruffly, and Carmen knows there's no way of changing his mind. Junseo pays for their meals much to Carmen's dismay.   
The car ride home was… tense, to say the least. It was apparent whatever Junseo had talked about on the phone had upset him, when they finally make it to Carmen's complex, he is tempted to bolt out the car. But instead Carmen looks over to Junseo who is gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are turning white, Carmen isn't sure what possessed him, but he places a hand on Junseo. Instead of recoiling in anger like Carmen expected Junseo to do, his whole posture changes, Junseo is still tense but considerably less than before." I'm not sure what's bothering you, but I hope everything turns out alright." Carmen whispers, seemingly now afraid of his voice, he begins to take his hand back, but a calloused and large hand grabs it again. "Thank you, Carmen, I… don't have a lot of friends. Honestly, I only have Soohyun and maybe two other people I honestly consider to be friends. But I… I consider you a friend now." Carmen is shocked by the touch and sweet words; he stays quiet for a few seconds before speaking, "I think of you as a friend as well Junseo." They both smile at each other before Junseo lets go of Carmen's hand, the two exchange farewells as Carmen exits the car. And to his surprise, Junseo doesn't drive away until Carmen is safely in his complex's elevator; the subsequent walk and entering of his apartment are all but a blur as Carmen lands on his bed exhausted. This had been a day, Carmen lays face down on his bed, trying and failing to keep his mind away from Seohyun and Junseo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you for reading, have a beautiful day my lovelies!


End file.
